Change-speed gear



G. VON ZWEIGBERGK;

I CHANGE SPEED GEAR. APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, I918.

Patented July 12, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

l'nycn/t'or Wi/bzesses W M w W N G. VON ZWEIGBERGK.

CHANGE SPEED GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23,1918.

Patented July 12, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wwzesses G. VON ZWEIGBERGK.

CHANGE SPEED'GEAR.

- APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1918.

1 3 4 504 Patented July 12, 1921. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

F an? sis- G. VON ZWEIGBERGK.

CHANGE SPEED GEAR. APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1918.

Patented July 12, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

GILLIS VON ZWEIGIBERGK, OF- ST. ANNES N SEA, ENG-LAND.

CHANGE-SPEED GEAR.

Application filed July 23, 1918. Serial No. 246,356.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 'I, GILLIs VON Zwnro- BERGK, a citizen {of the United States of America, residing at St. Annes on Sea, in the county of Lancaster, England, have in-- vented certain new and useful Improvements in Change-Speed Gears, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in or.

relating to change-speed gears of the epicyclic type and has for its object to vprovlde a gear which will give two or more speeds in both the ahead and reverse directions and shall be easy to manipulate. The main feature of the invention lies in the use of a yielding reaction device operative for example on the planet-carrying member, comprising a compound wound dynamo electric machine whereof the shunt winding is separately excited and the armature is connected across the series winding in such manner as Y to reinforce the shunt fieldrwhen the armature is driven. In this way a reaction is obtained which varies in the same sense as does the motion which is to be retarded. Further features of the invention relate to means whereby a smooth change can be made without jolting or jerking the driven member. The invention is particularly suitable for use on self-propelled vehicles, and

" this form of it will be'described by way of example, although'it will'be understood that the invention may be applied in other ways.

1 In the accompanying drawings I Figure l is mainly a longitudinal section on the line 1' 1 of Figs. 2 and 6, but with some parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the mechanism as arranged in a self-propelled vehicle looking toward the front of the vehicle,'but with part shown in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3, 4; and 5 are detail sketches showing difierent positions of certain parts of the mechanism;

Fig. 6 is. a plan of Fig-2;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a detail, and

Fig. 8 is a diagram of connections.

Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the driving-shaft i A carrying a fly-wheel A has mounted upon it a clutch-casing A containing two sets of stop lates A A for two multiple disk-clutches. D pigoted 1n the end plate of the casing A 18 an intermediate shaft 3 upon which are mounted two concentric sleeves B 13*.

These sleeves are free to rotate separatelyand carry the sets of disks B B respectively cooperating with the sets A A, the sets of disks normally being held in engagement by springs M. The two clutches are operated by rollers B on bent levers B B resggctively engaging collar-like members 9 which rotate with the casing A and can move longitudinally to press the respective sets of plates together. The levers B B are plvoted near the bottom of the easmg for the gear. 1 The right-hand end of the shaft B has spigoted in it the end of the driven-shaft -D and italso carries a flange E to which is secured a suitably shaped member E provided with bearings E E for three ccmpound pinions whereof only one is shown. This inion 'E comprises three toothed gears 5 E E whereof E E mesh respectively with gears F F formed-on or se cured to the sleeves B B The gear E meshes with a gear F fast on a sleeve F loosely mounted on the shaft D, and the sleeve also carries on splines a sliding gear F operated by a sliift rod F to moveinto three different positions. A. wheel F toothed internally to receive the wheel Ff, and externally to engagexwith a reversing gear, whereof part is indicated at F, is keyed on the shaft D. The rod F is notched at G G3? G to receive a spring pressed F to determine the three positions of the wheel F for-reverse (as illustrated), oil and ahead driving. a

The member E also has secured on it a bevel gear-wheel Gr, see also Fig. 2, and a small bevel-wheel G meshes with it. This wheel G is secured on the shaft Gr of a dynamo electric machine which is disposed trolled by the levers B B respectivelv; As-

Spec ification of Letters Patent. Pate t d J l 12 192 transversely to the axis of the shaft A, B, V 1

G and shunt winding is usual'with this type of clutch, a springcontrol is provided on each, tending to keep it engaged. A shaft H mounted transversely and above the clutches carries an operating pedal H onan arm H a controllin spring'H which tends to holdthe pedal 1 in its uppermost position, (see Fig. 2) and a memberH which will be termed the push-member. The member H is roughly triangular in shape; one corner 7H engages the lever" B another corner H has a link connection H to the lever B and a boss concentric-with the shaft H has two;

projecting ratchet-like teeth H H. The

push-member H is so shaped and proportioned that when in the positionshown in Fig. 1 it holds both clutches out from engagement, When rotated in a clockwise direction, it first frees the lever 'B"; the link connection H has a toggle movement and does not release the lever B until the member H has been rotated still. furtherjw A tail-piece on the arm H isarranged to o erate a spring-controlled electrical switc as shown in Fig. 7 at the extreme limit of its upward movement.

A second shaft J is mounted transversely inthe casing, parallel to the shaft H and carries a lever J (Fig. 2) which is the The shaft J is cachange-speed lever.

pable of slight rotation and. carries also a bell-crank member J 2 which will hereinafter be called the stopmember. the stop-member J 2 has notches J 3 J t J 5 engaged by a detent spring J and the other arm is. formed with hooks or stops J J ada ted to. engage respectively .the end of the ever B, and the tooth H The tooth H on the push member engages the end J 9 of the other arm as shown in Fig. 3. The hand-lever J is so mounted on the shaft J that in addition to turning the shaft, it can itself turn about an axis transverse to the shaft so thatits lower end can take up any of the three positions indicated in Fig. 2. This lower end is connected throu h .the link K, lever -K shaft K lever ,link K (see Figs. 2 and 6) to the rod F which controls the reversing gear, and the partsare so proportioned that the movement indicated for the lever J operates the rod- F j to the desired extent. 1

Referring now to Fig. 8, which shows the diagram of connections for the electrical machine, a storage batte G is connected across the shunt winding and the switch L (see also Fig.' 7) normally short-circuits the: armature on to the series field G, the windings beingso arranged that in this position the series and' shunt fields reinforce each other. When the switch is operated by the lever 11 it connectsthe armature and series winding across the shunt winding and One arm oftained by depressing the The operation ofthisj-gear may now be briefly described. p

Assuming that the reversing gear F is in the neutral or off position, the pedal H is pressed down to the off position which is shown in Fig. 1 The hand lever J is first rocked into the first speed position, in which the notch J 3 is engaged by the detent J and 'is then moved laterally, say to the ahead position, thereby bringing the wheel F into engagement with the wheel F. The clutch-lever B isnow locked by the stop J and the'pedal H when released swings up and rotates the shaft H g to the position shownin Fig. 3, and the lever B allows the clutch A B to engage. The drive is therefore imparted to the gear train F, E, E", F F Fon the shaft D. The reaction, however, causes the member E? carrying the gears E E to turn in the reverse direction and drive the bevelpinion G and electrical machine. The en gagement 'ofthe tooth H with the stop J Fig. 3) prevents operation of the switch (Fig. '7) and the armature generates a current' inthe series field reinforcing the shunt field so that the machine is cumulatively loaded and sufiicie'nt reaction is pro- Vided on the bevelinion G to transmit the drive totheshaft fore epicyclic duringthe period of starting The gearing is thereand thereaction which renders the gear operative is an increasing one while the field is building up. Smooth starting is thereby obtained. The quicker the rotation of the member E the higher is the speed of the armature, and therefore the greater is its electrical loading.

The change to the second gear is obtained by depressing the'p'edal H to the ofPfosL' tion (Fig. 1) and 'moving'the lever 1 to engagshthe notch'J b the detent J (Fig. 4) en the edal 1 is released, the lever B", now free E0 the stop J is released and the clutch A B is closed automatically, but the stop J 8 engaging the tooth H (Fig. 4) prevents the pushmember H moving far enough to free the lever B and close the clutch A B The drive is therefore imparted to the gear train F ,"E, E, F,

B are e11 aged andthe' whole ge r rotates solidly. he direction of'rotation of the armature G is reversed and it therefore energizes the series field in the opposite direction. The extramovement of the lever H has, however, operated the switch L as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 8 and the armature is connected across the battery. If its speed .is low, it-will run as a motor, but if the speed is raised, it generates and charges the battery. Moreover, the series field is now opposing the shunt field so that the electrical loading is automatically diminished or removed if so desired.

The engine may be electrically started by the apparatus provided by this invention, and when this is to be done, both clutches are closed while the pedal is in -its. extreme upward position and the reverse gear is in the. off position. The switch L is then employed to connect the motor across the battery. An additional switch may, however, be providedin order to disconnect the battery either when the latter is not in use,

or when it is not desired to charge it while the engine is running.

-Thewhole of these operations are, exactly the same for reversing the drive, with the exception that the lever J is moved transversely in the other-direction in the firstin-.

stance. All the variations for three speeds ahead, off, and three speeds reverse are therefore obtained by movement of this one lever.

What I claimas my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 2-- 1. In an epicyclic change-speed gear the combination-with one element of an epicyclic train'of gearing, of a compound wound dynamo-electric machine whereof the armature is rotatively engaged with said element, the

- shunt winding is separately excited and the an ,armature of a dynamo-electric machine operatively connected to said planet-carrier,

series winding is connected across the armature in such manner as to reinforce the shunt field when the armature is driven by said element, substantially as set forth.

2, In an epicycli'c change-speed gear the combination of a driving sun-wheel, a driven sun-wheel, planetary wheels on a planet-carrier operatively connecting said. sun-wheels,

and a compound-wound field system for said armature, the shunt winding thereof being separately excited and the series winding being connected across the armature insuch manner as to reinforce the shunt field when the armature is driven by said planet-carrier, substantially as set forth.

3. In an epicyclic change-speed gear the combination of coaxial driving and driven shafts, a plurality of trains of planetary gearing connecting them, said trains having one element common to all, means for selectively or jointly engaging.. ,-said trains withsaid shafts, an armature of a dynamo-electric machine operatively connected to said common element and a compound-wound and the series winding being connected across the armature in such manner as to reinforce,

the shunt field when the armature is driven by said element, substantially as set forth.

4. In an epicyclic, change-speed gear the combination of coaxial driving and 'driven shafts, a plurality of trains of planetary gearing connecting them and having a single element carrying the planet-wheels for all of said trains, means for selectively or jointly engaging said trains with said shafts, an armature of a dynamo-electric machine operatively connected to said planet-carrying element and a compound-wound field system for said armature, the shunt winding thereof being separately excited and the series winding being connected across the armature in such manner as to reinforce" the shunt field when 'carrier, the shunt winding is separately excited and the series winding is connected across the armature in such manner as to reinforce the shunt field when the armature is driven by said planet-carrier, substantially the armature is rotatively engaged with an element of said train of gearing, the shunt winding is separately excited and the series winding is'connected across the armature insuch manner as to reinforce the shunt field when the armature is driven by said element, substantially as set forth.

7. In a change-speed gear the combination of a driving shaft, a plurality of gear-wheels freely mounted coaxially, a corresponding'plur ality of clutch devices each adapted to engage one of said wheels rotatively with said shaft, controlling means for said clutch-devices, a planet-carrier freely mounted concentrically with said shaft, planetary-pinions on said planet-carrier engaging said gear-wheels and operatively connected with asecond series of planetary pinions, a driven shaft coaxial with said driving shaft, a gear-Wheel fast thereon and engaged by said second series of planetary pinions, a toothed gear on said planet-carrier,

5 an armature of a dynamo-electric machine, a

toothed pinion thereon engaged by said lastmentioned toothed gear, and a compoundwound field system for said armature, the

shunt winding thereof being separately excited and the series winding being connected 1 across the armature in such manner as to reinforce the shunt field when the armatureis driven by said planet-carrier, substantially as set forth.

In testimon whereof I affix m si ature.

GI LIS VON ZWEIG E GK. 

